American Masterpieces from the Batten Collection at Chrysler Museum
- July 18, 2011 13:31
The Chrysler Museum of Art has extended the exhibition "American Masterpieces from the Batten Collection" through July 31, 2011. This extraordinary collection of American art is from Jane and the late Frank Batten, Sr., who have placed nine of their paintings on long-term loan as promised gifts to the Chrysler. The group of paintings reflects the Battens’ deep love for America, its scenery, and its people, as well as their passion for sailing.
The paintings on view from The Batten Collection include two works by Winslow Homer, in addition to canvases by Alfred Bierstadt, Thomas Hart Benton, Edward Redfield, William Glackens, James Buttersworth and George Bellows. Each painting dramatically enriches the range and depth of the Museum’s already important collection of American paintings.
The Batten's art tells a story that begins when America was a young country, and as surveyors were mapping a great wilderness, a talented painter was traveling with them. That's the story with the handsome view of Minnehaha Falls by Albert Bierstadt, shown at right.
Bierstadt (1830 - 1902) was a key figure in encouraging Americans to appreciate the beauty of our varied national landscape. He is particularly celebrated for his huge and dramatic views of the American West. Here his subject is the Minnesota waterfall named for the heroine of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1855 poem, the Song of Hiawatha.
View works by George Bellows (1882-1925), Edward Redfield (1869-1965), and William Glackens (1870-1938) who also took the American landscape as their subject, each selecting a scene and style that suited their artistic personality. Bellows, best known for his powerful depictions of boxers and gritty urban scenes, here shows us a New York farm where he often spent the weekend. With rough gestural strokes he captures the wonderful moment when winter fades into spring.
Redfield devoted nearly his entire artistic career to the rolling countryside of Bucks County, Pennsylvania along the Delaware River. He particularly relished the challenge of bringing life to winter scenes. Often in his quest to capture the exact light and detail of a scene, he set up his easel in the snow.
If the wintery chill of these two works leaves you longing for a bit of sunshine, take a look at William Glackens’ evocative view of swimmers and boaters enjoying the sea in Gloucester, Massachusetts. It evokes perfectly the spirit of summer in New England.
One of America’s greatest painters, Winslow Homer (1836-1910), is represented by two charming and intimate works each showing a single figure in a private moment of contemplation. In one, a young woman has paused to pluck a good-luck four-leaf clover. In the second (shown above), a farmer pauses at the end of his day, the warm afternoon sun on his back, to gaze across a recently harvested field.
Things don’t seem to be going quite as well for the picnickers in Thomas Hart Benton’s (1889-1975) painting, shown at right. In this and all his work, the artist has a remarkable ability to endow trees, rocks, and plants with enormous energy and personality. Here a tree almost seems to be reaching out deliberately to grab the unlucky girl.
Finally, don’t miss the two extraordinary pictures by marine artist James Buttersworth (1817-1894). His meticulously observed portraits of 19th century racing yachts in full sail are a perfect blend of historical detail and fluid grace.
Bill Hennessey, the Museum director, says, “The Battens made this wonderful commitment because they understood that the satisfactions of collecting include not only the excitement of the chase to secure a great work of art, not only the subsequent pleasure of living with it. They recognized an opportunity to share this experience with others in their home community. The Battens’ pictures will significantly broaden and deepen the Museum’s presentation of our nation’s art in important ways. We hope that their generosity will also be an inspiration to others.”
The Chrysler Museum of Art is one of America’s most distinguished mid-sized art museums with a world-class collection of more than 30,000 objects, including one of the great glass collections in America. The Museum is located at 245 West Olney Road in Norfolk, Virginia, and is open Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Thursdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sundays, noon-5 p.m. The Chrysler is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, as well as on major holidays. Admission to the Museum’s permanent collection is free. Special exhibitions may have an admission fee. For exhibitions, programming, and special events, visit www.chrysler.org or call 757-664-6200.
